A former Democratic senator is joining a prominent Washington lobbying shop after receiving thousands in campaign contributions from the firm and authoring legislation that advanced the international trade agenda of one of its foreign government clients.

During a Wednesday interview, Kay Hagan blamed her 2014 defeat to Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) on “money in politics,” despite the fact that she spent more than twice as much money as Tillis and that outside groups supporting her far outspent groups supporting Tillis.

As the midterm elections approached, most Democrats had resigned themselves to losing the Senate, but few, if any, were expecting to lose in North Carolina.

To be fair, there weren’t too many Republicans predicting a Thom Tillis victory, either. But that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night, when voters denied Kay Hagan’s bid for reelection, thus making it much harder for her to steal money from American taxpayers and give it to members of her immediate family. Hagan’s loss is a huge win for America, and here’s why:

Being Kay Hagan (or a member of her immediate family) is a pretty good gig if you can find it. As a Democratic senator, Hagan has significantly increased her net worth since getting elected and her husband, son, and son-in-law have received taxpayer funding for their businesses. Additionally, she appears to have convinced the local media that stories reflecting poorly on her are unfit for print.

The Charlotte Observer is under fire from Republicans for pulling a story about Hagan and the stimulus grants her family received. After briefly posting a story about state government officials calling for a “legal review” of the grants—with the headline: “Memo: Grant given to company run by Sen. Hagan’s husband needs ‘legal review’”—the Observer erased the story from its website.